I spend a lot of time listening to podcasts...it’s a great way to spend time productively and enjoyably when I’m travelling around or in between classes.
If you find the right ones they can be a source of great information on all aspects of the practice...but there are so many of them out there that finding the right ones can be a challenge.
So to make your search for inspiring yoga related chat an easy one I’ve listed below (in no particular order) my 5 favourite yoga podcasts...
1. J Brown Yoga Talks
Once you get used to the long winded intros (annoying at first but after a while quite endearing) J’s podcasts are well worth a listen. As well as interviewing many well known yoga teachers he provides a platform for ‘everyday yoga teachers’ to be heard...and he often invites on guests who are doing important, valuable work with yoga but who perhaps receive less exposure than they deserve. He also doesn’t shy away from addressing some of the difficulties and challenges facing yoga - his series last year on the abuse in the ashtanga community was an important contribution to the discussion.
2. Yogaland with Andrea Ferretti
Andrea is an ex journalist - at one point she was the editor of Yoga Journal. So she’s very well connected with the ‘big name’ yoga teachers and her interviewing style is both professional and warm. She sounds like someone you’d want to have a cuppa with. Her husband is Jason Crandell - a highly respected and popular yoga teacher. He’s a regular guest on the podcast and his contributions are always valuable - especially for yoga teachers.
3. Mindful Strength with Kathryn Bruni-Young
Kathryn is a real innovator and someone I admire hugely. She grew up a dedicated ashtangi (her mum is also a respected yoga teacher) but has been exploring other approaches to movement over the last decade. She describes herself as a ‘movement educator’ and she invites a really eclectic mix of guests onto the podcast - it’s so valuable to hear perspectives on the body and approaches to movement from outside of the yoga scene.
4. Chitheads
Without a doubt the best name on this list (‘chit’ means consciousness in Sanskrit). I enjoy listening to this podcast because it focuses specifically on the philosophies of yoga (the discussions explore other eastern philosophies too) - a nice counter to some of the more anatomical and technical discussions elsewhere.
5. triyoga talks
triyoga attracts some of the biggest name teachers out there and they do feature on this podcast - but it’s nice to hear interviews with lesser known but no less accomplished UK based teachers too...some of whom have been really important teachers for me over the years. It’s also fun to hear my ex-colleague Genny do the interviewing (she’s another ex-journalist, a very dedicated yoga practitioner and a great teacher).
So there you have it - I hope you enjoy diving in to some of these and if you have any podcast suggestions of your own (they don’t have to be yoga related) then I’d love to hear about them...I’m always looking out for inspiring and entertaining shows to add to my listening repertoire.
